West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stock Position Trimmed by Cynosure Group LLC

Cynosure Group LLC decreased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 87.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,275 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST opened at $221.49 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $396.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $256.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. On average, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WST. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.